Tag Archives: habits

The World Health Organization’s cancer research agency said on Wednesday that at least 9.6 million people will died from cancer in 2018. This will account for 1 in 8 deaths in men and 1 in 11 deaths in women.

WHO also stated that at least 18.1 million will be diagnosed with cancer this year. This number is up from 14.1 million in 2012 when the last survey was published.

WHO also wrote in their study that the rising numbers of cases and deaths were determined by a number of factors that included social and economic development and the increasing populations.

The deadliest cancer in the world for this year is lung cancer, which also has 2.1 million new cases. Lung cancer is mainly caused by smoking but can also be caused by second-hand smoke as well. Breast cancer also has the same amount of new cases as well.

The third most commonly diagnosed cancer is bowel cancer followed by prostate and stomach cancers.

Of course, the best way to prevent cancer from spreading is to get a check-up once every 3 months depending on your age, along with having healthy habits.

“Stop-smoking” programs, screenings and vaccines may have helped reduce some cancer rates in certain areas such as lung cancer in Europe and North America.

Though some programs are working, WHO added that most countries still face an overall rise in the number of people diagnosed and treated for cancer.

When everyone is home for summer or winter break it can be easier to find yourself eating healthier than you did while away at school. When you return to school you want to continue your healthy habits and buy fruits and vegetables and only make healthy meals. There are a few problems with that goal including expenses, expirations, and expectations.

Healthy foods are significantly more expensive than junk food or fast food. It’s sad to say but it’s the undeniable truth. Whenever you go to the store to get gluten free bread it’s 3-5 more dollars than regular white bread. When you choose to buy fruits and vegetables at the store instead of chips and salsa, it’s more money than you planned on spending. You want to eat healthy and keep up with your diet from home but it can be a difficult task to follow through on when you have to spend all of your money on these meals and snacks just to lead a healthy lifestyle.

“Healthy foods are significantly more expensive than junk food or fast food.”

Another problem is the expiration dates of healthy foods. If you buy strawberries, blueberries, spinach, etc it can be difficult to get your money’s worth because they are going bad after just one short week. You are only buying for one person so it can be hard to consume all of those fruits and vegetables in just one week to get what you paid for. A good alternative to buying fruit is opting for the frozen fruits. They will last you a very long time and you are sure to get your money’s worth.

The last problem is the unrealistic expectations. When I am home, I’ll go to the grocery store with my mom and get all of the foods that I want or need. I don’t have to spend any money on them, I don’t have to worry about them expiring because the rest of my family will also be eating them, and I can replenish them whenever I need to because I’m not having to budget my money like when I’m at school. It’s good to remember that it won’t be as easy eating healthy at school as it was at home for you. There are always alternative options such as the frozen fruit example and many more that can improve the chances of you constantly eating healthy!

Anew study by Duke University scientists presents that habits leave an enduring imprint on particular circuits in the brain, preparing us to nourish our desires.

Published online January 21 in the journalNeuron, the examination develops researchers’ comprehension of how habits like eating sugar and different vices appear in the brain and proposes new procedures for breaking them.

“One day, we may be able to target these circuits in people to help promote habits that we want and kick out those that we don’t want,” saidNicole Calakos, M.D., Ph.D., the study’s senior examiner and an associate professor of neurology and neurobiology atDuke University Medical Center.

Calakos, a specialist in the brain’s versatility and adaptability, collaborated withHenry Yin, a specialist in animal habit-related behavior in Duke’s department of psychology and neuroscience. Both researchers are additionally members of theDuke Institute for Brain Sciences.

The scientists trained generally sound mice to shape different degrees of a sugar habit by dispensing sweets if they pressed a lever. The mice that developed a dependency on the sugar continued pushing the lever even without being rewarded with a sweet.

Photo by: Danielle Johnson. Photo of: Raven Mason

The researchers then compared the brains of the sugar-dependent mice with those that didn’t develop a habit. Specifically, they looked at the basal ganglia, “a complex network of brain areas that controls motor actions and compulsive behaviors, including drug addiction.”

The basal ganglia,scientists said, discharged two primary types of paths carrying opposing messages, a “go” message that spurs action and a “stop” signal.

For the non-dependent mice, the stop signal was turned on prior to the go signal. The opposite was the case for the addicted mice. The analysts said they anticipated that the stop signal would be less dynamic in a dependent brain.

The analysts noted that the adjustments in the circuits took place over the “entire region of the basal ganglia they were studying as opposed to specific subsets of brain cells.” The progressions were “long-lasting and obvious” to the point scientists could tell which brain was dependent by observing small pieces in a petri dish.

This, analysts add, may be why one addiction can prompt others.

As a major aspect of the study, the researchers needed to check whether they could end habits in the mice, by just giving them sweets when they quit pushing the lever. The mice that ended the habit had “weaker go cells.”

This could prompt offering people some assistance with breaking negative habits, however since the basal ganglia is so intricate, it may be difficult to target with medications, said the researchers.

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